Doctors Want to Use iPads, Smartphones to Access Pharmaceutical Data

Doctors have demonstrated an interest in accessing pharmaceutical drug marketing materials on smartphones and the Apple iPad, according to a Manhattan Research study.

Physicians are interested in online video presentations about pharmaceuticals on their smartphones and tablets such as the Apple iPad, according to a new study by Manhattan Research.

In the study "ePharma Physician 11.0," the firm found that 45 percent of ePharma physicians would like to access pharmaceutical product information on their smartphone or iPad instead of live in-person meetings. ePharma physicians are those doctors who are connected to pharmaceutical resources online. They make up 87 percent of physicians, Manhattan Research reports.

Doctors use online resources 66 percent of the time to research information on pharmaceuticals, according to the firm.

Meanwhile, 52 of physicians surveyed prefer the pharmaceutical information to be spread out among PCs, smartphones and tablets.

With doctors using mobile devices for practice management, to access EHRs (electronic health records) and to monitor patient conditions, receiving marketing pitches from pharmaceutical reps online is another use case that works for them, according to Monique Levy, vice president of research at Manhattan Research.

Pharmaceutical reps pitch doctors in presentations called video details, in which they inform them about the background of the latest medications and how they can help patients. The presentations may involve a roundtable of experts or information about clinical trials.

"Physicians are interested in having these experiences on their mobile devices," Levy told eWEEK. "We're in the very early stages, and pharma is trying to roll these out aggressively."